Tracing back to Thea
by Tea is a way of life
Summary: A chance scholarship unites the next pair in the Finding Sky series. Thea, an incredibly bright Irish student, finds herself landed in the prestigious University of Colorado. With a rewritten past will her soulfinder Will help her realise that she doesn't know who she really is and help her when her troubled past inevitably catches up to her? Dark themes, rating may vary
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 - Will**

"Stop it Zed!", giggled the soulfinder of my youngest brother, jerking me out of a surprisingly pleasing dream, whereupon I was in my own apartment and the only thing that woke me up was the all too familiar sound of the alarm on my phone. Speaking of my phone, I groaned as I rolled over on my bed and stretched my arm out to check the time on the aforementioned device. Another groan resounded throughout myself as I saw the boldly written **09.30** displayed on the centre of the screen. My right hand covered half my face as I thought, 'why on Earth was Sky over at this hour in the morning, but more importantly why did she have to wake me up at his unholy hour of the day?'

I sighed, as I lay back flat on the bed and folded one arm back to rest my head upon. Staring at the ceiling, I thought to myself, 'When will I be joining in that group? When will it be me tickling and joking with my soulfinder? When will it be my turn to be that happy simply by being in the company of one other person?' My heart wrenched as it often did upon thinking such things.

I glanced around my room. Photos of my friends decorated the space, along with my jersey and it's accompanying football strewn across my desk chair. My guitar sat idly in the corner, resting against the wall with tarnished strings and a worn-out neck. A photo of my Dad playing said guitar sat upon my bedside locker and I stared at it with the similar expression of my nine-year-old self in the photo. I smiled. So what if I haven't met my soulfinder yet? I'm only 21 years old, as of today anyway. I have my entire life ahead of me. I had my friends in college, my football team and a loving family that waited for me downstairs.

No longer perturbed by my less-than-thrilling awakening of the day, I jumped out of my bed smiling before throwing on a pair of jeans and a plain t-shirt and journeying my way downstairs.

"SURPRISE!", yelled the vast amount of people congregating around the bottom of the stairs. I jumped, lost my footing and fell down the last few steps accompanied by the booming laughs of my brothers. Uriel's hand found my upper arm and helped me up, while I continued to look around in awe at the heavily decorated room of banners, balloons and confetti.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE ANOTHER ONE OF MY BABIES HAS BECOME A MAN!", yelled my mother as she threw herself at me. Despite my muscular stature, I was forced a step of two back by my petite, yet powerful mother.

"I can't believe you guys", I exclaimed, "how long did this take you?"

"We've been here since 8am", smiled Sky while a nodding Zed slipped his hand around her waist.

"I always knew I was the favourite", I joked to the room.

"Then why did they have three more after you?", Xav chipped in.

I looked at him, "When I turned out so good, they thought they were on a lucky streak and tried for a few more like me. Unfortunately, they were wrong. It's ok though, one gift is enough. Especially when that gift is me".

"Stop that now", said Mom releasing me and tapping Xav on the forearm, "You are all special in your own way"

"But I'm still the specialest Mom, right?", Xav asked leaving Crystal, who stood rolling her eyes, following Mom into the kitchen.

"You certainly are, Xav", smirked Victor as he sat down at the nook.

"Not like that!", cried Xav from the kitchen.

"Anyway, seeing as I am the favourite", I began while joining Victor in the nook, "what did you all get me in order to prove your love and admiration"

Sky hurried towards me with a large, flat, brightly wrapped present. She handed it to me excitedly and her smile continued to stretch across her face as I tore apart the paper.

My jaw hung open as I stared at the framed jersey which was signed by my all-time favourite Buffalo quarterback, Kordell Stewart.

"How", I breathed.

"He commissioned my parents to do some paintings for his home in Denver. I got Zed to take your jersey and Sally passed it on to him to sign. Do you like it?!"

"It's amazing Sky, thank you", I said getting up to give her a hug.

"We really shouldn't have started with this one, because I doubt there will be any topping that", I said to the room.

"I don't know about that Will", said Xav as he bumped Crystal from her seat and propped her back on his knee.

I stared at him raising an eyebrow and he smirked at his soulfinder.

"Well", began Crystal, "We were thinking, only if you wanted to, and its completely ok if you don't I understand it's a big decision and judging by the track record of the others in this family, it certainly has never been easy. But, if you would like me to, I would love to try and locate your soulfinder".

I stated at her.

'Wow', I thought. I certainly had not been expecting this. Of course I wanted to find my soulfinder but what Crystal said was true. None of my brother's had an easy time when discovering their soulmates. One didn't know they were a savant, another was part of a crime world savant organisation, upon finding the last two, all links were severed and Crystal and myself, nearly died when trying to rectify the situation.

Besides all this, I looked at my brothers who had found the people they were destined to be with. None of them looked unhappy with who they were with or by what they had to go through to get to be in said relationships. Hell, I didn't even regret what happened to me when I was helping them.

I looked back at Crystal and then around the room, at the faces of my brothers who were still waiting to become whole.

"But why me? Should it not be Victor or Uriel? They're older. It's their turn", I said looking at the pair.

They smiled at me, "We discussed it", began Victor "and we decided that it should be you. When we were rescuing the girls from the Contessa's house, it wasn't either of us who had been shot and had to go to hospital."

Uriel nodded, "and you did it without a word of complaint. I don't know if I'd have done the same"

I looked at Uriel when he said this, of course he would have. Uriel was hands down the most empathetic, giving person I have ever met. I really appreciated what they were doing but I wasn't sure if I could accept it.

"Besides", said Victor, "we didn't get you anything else, so this is really a present from us as well".

I laughed, "Well, in that case, I would love to"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 - Thea**

 _*Blink*_

 _Cement floor_

 _*Cough*_

 _Now with a splash of red to liven up the place_

 _*Stretch*_

 _Cold hard metal chafes the already broken skin_

 _*Door opens*_

 _Head sinks, heart stops, body shrinks_

 _Pain begins._

A bout of turbulence jerks me out of the night terror. My hands grip the armrests on either side of me while I sit there in a cold sweat with a racing heart.

"You alright, deary?", a kind old woman asks me while placing a comforting hand on my forearm.

Instinctively I recoil, but as I watch her hand pull away and her kind eyes widen in shock, the realisation of what just happened hits me.

"Oh my God, I am so sorry", I say while placing my hand on my chest in a further attempt to both quiet and slow down the pounding inside of me, "I was having an awful nightmare".

"Oh you poor girl", began the woman, "but don't you worry, it happens to the best of us. The bad ones tend to stop us from settling back into reality".

"I'm not a great flyer", I explained while nodding and continuing to rub my chest, "I've barely slept a wink all week thinking about this flight, I guess it just all caught up with me"

I smiled at her, embarrassed, a smile that she returned with her own.

"It's ok deary, we all have our weaknesses", she said comfortingly while patting.

Looking at the seat in front of me, I closed my eyes and shook my head, "Heights and small spaces", I gulped, "Not really my thing"

She looked at me with worried eyes and then checked her watch, "Well, we have about an hour and a half left to go, I'd best distract you. What are you doing here stateside?"

I smiled graciously at her, "I'm just after being invited by the University in Colorado to study there for a year"

"Oh wow, that's mighty impressive deary, congratulations, but why Colorado?"

"It wasn't actually the only University that had broached the topic of me joining in their studies, but I guess I just had a gut feeling? Do you know what I mean?"

After saying this, I realised just how crazy (and perhaps a tad narcissistic I must sound).

"Oh wow", I begin while putting my hands on my cheeks to hide the fast-growing blush, "You must think I sound absolutely cracked"

She smiled at me, "No deary, I think you sound perfectly sane. If we all ignored our gut instincts, we'd never end up where we're supposed to be"

I smiled at her and even though a voice in the back of my head was wondering where she had read that horrendous load of bull, a familiar phrase floated through my head and slipped out my mouth.

"What is meant to be, won't pass you by"

She smiled again and said, "Exactly".

'Where on Earth had that phrase come from?', I wondered. It had such a feeling of familiarity and a warmth was almost attached to the words. I could feel a tug on my heart strings as the phrase continued to resound throughout my brain.

As soon as the tug was felt, it faded and an automatic reply of 'must be from a film or a book or something' echoed inside of my head.

"Deary?"

I looked at the old woman, "Oh, I'm so sorry. Again. I just zoned out, how rude of me"

She laughed, "No deary, I do it all the time. You're actually making me feel a lot better about myself. I thought it was just ' _an old person thing'_ "

I let out a brief chuckle but I usually did wonder about my zoning out. I did in fact have a tendency to do so quite a lot. Then again, isn't everyone in my generation supposedly the same? That we all have the attention span of a fish. 'Perhaps that was an insult to a fish', I briefly wondered before realising I was about to be pulled out of the conversation again.

I smiled at his kind lady.

"How long were you in Ireland for?", I asked.

"I actually came over for the entire summer. My husband was an Irishman and never let go of his family home. Which is lucky for me, I guess, because now I get to visit whenever I like. I absolutely adore Ireland"

"Oh wow", I said looking at her, "Where abouts is the house?"

"It's in Howth, in Dublin. Do you know it?"

"Oh Howth, how lovely. The beach is gorgeous there and you're not too far from the city"

The woman laughed again, " _lovely_ ", she mimicked, "You Irish certainly do love that word. I swear, I've never had a conversation with an Irish person without that word slipping in"

I suppose she was right, I don't think I've ever had a conversation without using it.

I was about to tell her this, when her watch started chiming.

"I'm sorry deary", she explained, "it's about time to take my medicine"

"Do you need some water or anything?", I asked, concerned for this woman, who didn't seem to have anybody with her to take care of her.

"Not at all deary, just you wait until you're my age and you'll be popping pills three to five times a day like they're tic-tacs. Now, excuse me for just a minute"

I laughed, "fire away", I said.

As I leaned back in my chair to look out at the clouds and the elderly woman reached down to start rifling through her bag, I felt an unfamiliar presence enter my mind.

 **Will**

I sat in front of Crystal as she held my hand.

Xav was sitting to her left-hand side with a supportive hand on her lower back and his eyes closed to match that of his soulfinder.

Crystal let out a small breath and suddenly I felt the connection. It was weak but it was there.

I let out a huff of relief, at least I knew that she was alive.

"I'm having trouble locating her", Crystal said with a furrowed brow.

Xav rubbed her back soothingly, "it's ok babe, just breath and focus"

Crystal did as instructed and let out a deep breath while her brow remained in their furrowed stature.

"I think… I think she may be on a plane… yes, definitely. I'll try to see if I can find out where she's going…"

I stared at Crystal with such hope. This was amazing. She could see my soulfinder. I stared intently at her while my hand involuntarily gripped her own a little tighter. I felt like an excited child on Christmas Eve.

I edged forward in my seat when Crystal gasped.

Xav's eyes shot open, but worry was quickly replaced with relief when his beloved other half began to laugh.

"I don't believe it", she said smiling.

"What?!", I asked excitedly.

Crystal opened her eyes, "She's flying to Colorado".

My jaw dropped.

How. How did I get so lucky.

"Finally!", exclaimed Zed, "At least this one won't be any trouble"

Sky jabbed him in the ribs.

"Hey!"

"I didn't say you weren't worth it, but it would have been a lot nicer if everything had just worked out as seamlessly as your skills in music"

Nodding by my brothers followed this statement.

Sky laughed, "Smooth Zed"

"Always am, baby, always am"

"Could you find out anything else about her?", I asked Crystal excitedly.

She frowned, "Unfortunately not. She is seemingly quite powerful, she knew I was there and was about to follow me back to my own mind before I got out. I would have let her but I was worried she wouldn't be fond of the idea or something."

I frowned. That is something I had not anticipated. What if she did in fact not want a soulfinder and rejected me?

Xav saw my concern and quickly jumped in, "dude, that's hardly the case. If she knows she's a savant and had enough power to sense Crystal was there, then more than likely she knows about soulfinders and the joy that comes with having one.

I smiled at, "Ya", I nodded, "You're probably right"

"I think she might have been a student", Crystal said

"What?", I replied looking at her, my anxiety suddenly gone. 'How perfect would that be?', I thought to myself.

Crystal nodded, "I caught a glimpse of the University of Colorado in her mind. It would make sense if she were"

I smiled so wide as I brushed both hands through my hair.

"Right", I said standing up, "thank you everyone for the banners and balloons and, of course, the ridiculously amazing gifts, but I'm off to College now"

"What?", exclaimed my mother as I turned to head back up the stairs, "but it's your birthday! And you don't even start back for another few days!"

"But Mom", I began looking her straight in the eyes, "Obviously I'm going to want to go back now. I was planning on going the day after tomorrow anyway, so its no big deal really"

"Let him go, Karla", my Dad said smiling, "of course he wants to go find her".

I looked a him as he placed an arm around my mother.

"Thanks Dad", I smiled.

He nodded to me and I turned to head up to my room so I could pack and then go find the girl of my dreams.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 - Thea**

I was so caught up by what had happened on the plane that I barely noticed the drive from the airport to the University. I couldn't believe that someone had been inside of my head. They had been in and out in a matter of seconds and I had no idea what they were looking for.

I was well shook and utterly confused. 'Why me?', I wondered. Even though I must admit to myself that my gifts were on the powerful side of things, I had never used them in any violent manner nor did I ever intend on doing so. I kept to myself and never caused any problems for the net. When they asked for me to join them, I rejected the offer as I wanted to go to College, focus on my studies and then hopefully land a peaceful career where I can continue with my easy-going lifestyle.

If the person who had done it was on the plane, they must have been a phenomenal actor, as I had dipped on and out of the minds of every passenger and from what I could tell, none of them carried the savant gene. The momentary relief that I had felt upon discovering this had quickly vanished as I realised that whoever had been in my mind must have been looking for me specifically.

They must be powerful too, to be able to reach me as I sat about 38,000 feet in the air. At least if it had been someone on the plane, it simply could have been another savant reaching out to satiate a natural curiosity. Something which I would understand, seeing as we're not a vast creation. However, simple curiosity was not the reason I was tracked today, whoever did so had a target and that target was me.

Whatever they did though, it had made me feel different. It had created almost a connection between me and something else. What it was, I didn't know. I couldn't even follow the connection to whatever lay at the end of the line because, well, first of all, I was a tad frightened of what it may be and secondly, I never felt this sort of connection before and I was unsure of how to approach it.

One thing I was sure of though, I was going to have to be on high alert.

I was suddenly worried. Maybe the gut instinct I had felt wasn't pushing me to go to Colorado, but rather was acting as a warning to stay away. Maybe it was a self preservational instinct that existed within us all.

That thought did not but me at ease in any way, shape or form.

I let out a breath I hadn't realised I had been holding when the bus came to a stop outside the entrance to the University.

'Well there's no point worrying about it now', I thought to myself, 'focus on finding your way to your dorm for now and you can worry about it if it ever happens again.

I followed the rest of the students off the bus and was shocked when I received a few looks of people as I thanked the driver.

'Hm, they mustn't do that here', I noted. Over the years I began to realise that Ireland must be one of the few countries that thank it's drivers. I had travelled a lot over the years, well across Europe anyway and I noticed that many countries did not do so. Especially the more Eastern European countries like Poland and the Netherlands.

After grabbing my suitcase from under the bus, I followed the herd of presumably first years, well freshman I suppose, further into the campus.

From what I know about the University of Colorado, there's four campuses and I would be residing in 'Boulder' as I was a law student.

The campus was absolutely gorgeous. It was cradles in a valley of mountains and surrounded by trees. There were patches of grass where I could picture other students lounging with their friends or maybe simply reading or listening to music.

I wondered was there a bar on campus or was that another thing that only happened at home. I really hoped there was. Sometimes at home you could be dreading the next lecture and a pint might just be the thing you need to give you the confidence to go.

After thinking that to myself, I couldn't help but wonder if it sounded a little bit 'alcoholic-y'. Then again, the stereotype of the Irish wasn't simply licked of the ground.

"INCOMING STUDENTS OVER THIS WAY PLEASE!", called a voice over a microphone.

I turned my head in the direction of the voice and saw a queue of people standing in front of a desk labelled "Check-in". I rolled my bag over and joined the queue.

Unfortunately on the way over, I hit someone with my bag.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry!", I exclaimed. 'Is this how I introduce myself to Americans now', I wondered to myself thinking back to the woman on the plane.

"Are you ok?", I asked the boy who had fallen victim to my bright yellow, 20kg suitcase.

He rubbed his leg for a second then looked at me and smiled, "I'm fine, don't worry. I wasn't looking where I was going".

"Oh good", I replied, "I really didn't want to send someone to hospital on my first day, that's more of a 'week two' kind of thing, ya know?"

He laughed, "I completely agree. I'm Jackson by the way, you a freshman too?".

He stuck his hand out and shaking it I replied, "I'm Thea. Not really I guess, I'm an international student, I'm on like a 'study abroad' thing for the year".

"oh cool", he said, "and you're over here from Ireland?"

I smiled at him "Good ear and yes I am. It's very different from my university at home though. A lot more natural I suppose", I said looking around.

"What are you going to be doing here then?", he asked

"Apart from attacking fellow students with my luggage, international law", I answered, "What do you do?"

He opened his mouth to reply when a voice behind me called, "Next please!"

I turned around and glanced at the woman before looking back at Jackson, "Well, I guess I'll see you around?", I smiled at him.

"I sure hope so anyway", he said while returning my smile.

I turned back to the woman and dragged my suitcase towards her.

"Hello", I said smiling at her.

"Name?", she replied without looking up.

"Eh, Thea O'Brien", I said, taken aback by her attitude.

She sighed as she checked my name off a list and then started rifling through some folders before handing me one of my own.

Sighing again she said, "So this is just your welcome package, it contains a campus map and a brochure of the University. Your student card is also in there, make sure you have that on your person at all times or you may be fined. There is an events calendar and a clubs and societies leaflet, should you be interested in actually joining any of them. Your accommodation is also inside the folder and a complementary rape whistle to be used only in the case of emergencies".

She the looked me up and down and smirked.

I looked at her and raised my eyebrow.

"Thank you", I smirked, "what way do I go to get to Athens Court?"

She rolled her eyes and sighed, "Didn't I just say there was a map in your folder?"

I looked at her, almost laughing.

"What?", she snapped.

"Nothing", I replied smirking, "Just wondering if you ever got an award for your marvellous portrayal of an absolute bitch in the movie of life?"

Her jaw dropped, "Excuse me?"

"Need I speak louder?", I asked innocently.

"You cannot speak to me like that, nobody can speak to me like that. I am not a bitch!"

"Oh I'm so sorry for surprising you, I thought you already knew!", I said feigning an apologetic look.

"You listen here-", she began pointing her acrylic nail at me and leaning forward.

Making a sad face, I interrupted her saying, "Sorry, I would absolutely love to, but I have to go. Why don't you write down what you're about to say and find me later to tell me what it was. I already told you where I live, but if you're unsure, you can open one of those folders and look at the map. OK?"

She stared at me, her face red with anger.

"You little-"

But I interrupted her again, "ok bye now. See you later!".

I picked up my folder and grabbed my suitcase smiling to myself.

Wow, that felt good.

I absolutely hate rude people, there is just no need. I could not stand how entitled that girl was! 'You can't speak to me like that', a voice inside my head mimicked her voice.

I then shook my head to forget about the girl, she wasn't worth a second thought.

I then pulled out the infamous map and began searching for my accommodation.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 - Will**

As I attempted to drive past the University grounds, I was caught in the whirlwind of traffic from incoming students both new and returning. Granted, the vast majority of today's pupils were freshman seeing as both today and tomorrow were largely geared towards registration and tours for the new students.

As my car came to yet another halt in the long line of cars, I watched as bus upon bus pulled up outside the gates of the University dropping off group after group of students. Flashes of colour from various people in the crowds caught my eye. My eyes started to drift towards the one yellow suitcase in a sea of black cases when the traffic started moving again.

I was not envious of the people who would be moving into dorm rooms or any on-campus accommodation for that matter. Not that they were terrible, but the thoughts of constantly being on University grounds didn't quite appeal to me as it did to many other students. Luckily the same thing could be said about my brothers.

Both Uriel and Xav attended the same University as myself and therefore, it seemed to be the better decision at the time to just live together in an off-campus apartment. It wasn't anything too special but it was better than what most other students would be getting.

The apartment wasn't that far from the University, in fact it was close enough to walk. Which suited me perfectly as I liked to clear my head before walking into any class. Law was a tedious subject which required complete focus, something which I find difficult enough to do on occasion. My brother's would always say I was too relaxed about everything, yet here I am. First out of three to return to college. Albeit for reasons other than educational.

Then it hit me. In the excitement of this morning, I nearly forgot what I was excited about and had focused on the actual feeling of excitement instead.

'I came to university to try and find my soulfinder', I thought to myself.

That realisation caught me by surprise and I stepped back to lean against my car in the lot of the apartment block.

'What if I had driven past her?', I thought to myself.

My heart was pounding in my chest with both nerves and excitement.

I couldn't quite come to terms with the fact that not only was my soulfinder in the same country as myself, but she was also within walking distance to me.

With that thought, I pulled my luggage from the boot and headed into my apartment.

"Hey, Will!", I heard as I had just put my key in the door.

I turned and smiled as my friend Jared walked towards me.

"Hey Jared, what are you doing back this early?", I asked while griping his hand and pulling him in for a half hug.

He pulled back and said, "Jackson's starting today, so I came up early to help him get set up. We're back soon anyway, so it didn't make all that much difference to me. Why you back though?"

"Thought I'd come up early and get a bit organised before we get started".

Jared laughed and said, "That's not the Will that I know"

I pretended to be shocked as I said, "hey, I always get my work done"

"Yes, yes you do actually but you always leave it last minute and still manage to come out with a good grade"

I laughed, "I am amazing, I'm not gonna lie to you. But seriously though, I don't think that I can get away with that again this year. I better try to run somewhat on schedule"

"Haha man, I'll believe that when I see it", he began, "hey why don't you dump your stuff inside and head back to campus with me? I told my Mom that I'd bring Jackson for food after his first day".

"Ya dude that's actually perfect, I was planning on heading back anyway, let me just throw my stuff inside", I said to him smiling.

As we were walking through campus, I suddenly realised, I had no idea how I was going to find my soulfinder. I looked at the queues of people getting their welcome packs and I felt completely at a loss. 'What was I supposed to even do?', I asked myself. I could hardly go into every single person's mind. That would take months if not years, I wouldn't even know what to look for.

Next thing I knew, an alarm went off in my head, meaning my gift was warning me about an incoming danger.

"Look out dude, it's-", Jared's warning was cut off by the shriek of a sorority sister in her natural habitat.

"WILL!", she screamed as she tackled me straight on.

"hey, Tiffany", I said awkwardly as I gently pushed her off me

"I'm so happy to see you came up early!", she said beaming and batting her eyelashes, "Did you remember I was working the registration desk?"

' _Shit'_ , I thought, now she was going to think I came up here to specifically see her.

I had enough trouble with this girl the year before, she seemed to think, regardless of all my rejections, that I had a thing for her and her and I were basically an item. It drove me insane.

The guys on the team could never understand why I didn't just hook up with her. She is a very good-looking girl in an Instagram sort of sense, I've never seen that girl without her talons of nails or a full face of makeup.

Before my brothers started discovering their soulmates left, right and centre, I probably would have gone out with Tiffany maybe once or twice. It would never have been anything serious, but hey, I would never have expected it to be.

That attitude all changed when I saw how happy the girls make my brothers. I wanted a love like that and anything less than is no longer satisfactory when constantly surrounded by people who are both unequivocally happy and in love.

"No actually, did you tell me that?", I asked, trying to get my lack of interest across.

Lightly placing her hand on my upper-arm, she laughed, saying, "Don't act as if this was an accident, Will"

It was.

"I finish in an hour", she said checking her watch, "do you wanna go for a bite to eat then?"

"No", I said a little too quickly.

I noticed Jared place a hand over his mouth while pretending to cough, as to hide his obvious chuckle.

Tiffany looked at me quizzically, as if she couldn't even consider the fact that I would not want to go on a date with her and the only reason for my refusal of her invitation was because I had other plans.

And because I am nice than some of my brothers and even though it would help me long-term to just walk away from this situation and leave her standing there slowly grasping the concept of my lack of interest, I said to her, "Jared and I are taking Jackson out to dinner before we head back to the apartment. It's kind of a guys thing".

"Oh, I actually checked-in your brother today Jared", she began, completely ignoring what just happened as if she was the one who said no, "Right after this absolute skank. She was so beyond the valley of tragic, and unbelievably rude. She called me a bitch, right to my face, can you believe that?"

'Yes', I thought before saying, "Well some people, ya know?"

She looked at me and nodded, "Well, I hope you never meet her, she was awful and had a terrible accent. Some sad Irish girl. Thank God she's an international student and only here for the year. I'd hate it if I had to spend the next, well, God knows how many years with her around"

Before we could even reply, her phone beeped and she said, "Well, gotta go. We're already starting to get potential pledges at Kappa. See you later guys. Bye Will"

We both stared after her for a second before turning to each other.

"Wow", said Jared

"I know", I replied.

"And you don't want to get with that?", he said laughing.

"Ughh don't even say it. I wouldn't have minded seeing that Irish girl calling her out"

"Haha ya I know. One thing she did get right was 'God knows how many years' she'll be here. Lucky her Daddy's the Dean of Admissions or else she'd have failed out of College a long time ago"

I nodded

"Anyway", he began, "Let's go find Jackson and go get some food, I'm starving!"

And with that, we left. I guess I'd have to look for my soulfinder some other day. I hope she wasn't anything like Tiffany.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 – Thea**

 _I walked down the grey and cold corridor, lined on either side with cell after cell._

 _I took no notice of any inmates that may or may not have been contained inside, my focus was on the door stood directly ahead of me._

 _I could hear crying inside and I opened the door and smiled._

 _There she sat, her blonde hair covering her face as she desperately tried to pull the chains attached to her off the walls._

 _"_ _It's no use", I said, my deep voice resounding off the dreary grey walls._

 _Upon hearing my deep voice, she immediately froze and started to shake._

 _"_ _C'mon babe", I began while walking towards her, "It's time for the next round"_

 _Her back still facing me, she dropped to her knees, "no, no, no", she repeated over and over quietly._

 _My hand reached for her arm and her quietly spoken rejections increased in volume until she was shouting._

 _"_ _NO", she cried, "PLEASE, NO DON'T DO IT AGAIN PLEASE"_

 _I ignored her again and pulled her to her feet._

 _"_ _We all have our rolls to play", I said as I began to drag the crying girl down the corridor._

 _And then she looked up at me._

I shot up in my bed with a gasp.

I put my hand on my chest to try and steady my breathing. As I did this, I could feel the heavy beat of my heart from within my sweat soaked chest.

I took in three deep breaths and said aloud to the room, "that was some dream".

It had been so strange.

Firstly, I was a man, secondly, the girl was me and thirdly, it had the feel of a memory, rather than a dream.

My head dropped into my hands as I smiled in a sick sort of amusement, 'when would I have ever been in that position?', I thought to myself.

I turned to look at my bedside locker and groaned when I saw the time, **5.34**.

I guess that showed that I was still not used to the time difference.

It was my own fault really. I should have made myself stay awake until a reasonable hour to go to bed and then I wouldn't have this problem. It was only after half eleven back in Ireland and had I stayed up until that time over here, I'd be fresh as a daisy come 7am here. But alas, jet lag had gotten the better of me as it was half five in the morning and I was wide awake. Not that I'd have had any hope of going back to sleep after such a nightmare.

I shook my head, as if to shake the very dream from my mind and turned on my bedside lamp.

'May as well get up now', I thought as I swung my legs off my bed.

I shockingly discovered that there wasn't much to do at this time in morning and after cleaning my cereal bowl, I journeyed to my freshly stocked wardrobe and withdrew some shorts and a top.

Figuring I may as well do something productive with my extra hours gained, I decided to go for a run.

The university campus was well equipped with areas for extra-curricular activities, such as a running track and that was where I found myself not an hour after my less than joyful awakening.

About two laps into my run, a few more students joined me in my lapse of exercise around the track. My pace matched that of the music that was pounding in my ears and therefore was not of a changeless manner. The pace stayed with the tempo of each song and I couldn't help but do it. It was probably due to the fact that I liked to play my music so loud, perhaps even to the point of damaging my hearing, but that was how I liked it.

The reason I played my music so loud was because when I run, I do not want to think, I do not want to worry, I just want to feel nothing.

Also, when the music is so loud, you don't tend to focus on the actual run, but rather the music. Thus, making the running easier.

Today, my music was playing so loudly, I didn't even notice the boy running after me and shouting until he put his hand on my shoulder, causing me to spin around and punch him.

"Oh my God", I said putting both my hands in front of my mouth as I looked at the boy rubbing his jaw.

"Oh my God", I repeated, "I am so sorry".

He laughed, "Woah, that's some swing you got there", he continued rubbing his jaw, "I was just trying to tell you that you dropped your keys".

I stared at the silver keys dangling from his tanned hand.

I laughed, embarrassed and biting my lip, I took them from him, "Thank you for that, but seriously, I am really sorry"

He laughed again, "Hey, don't worry about it. Its not actually a bad reaction to have, I should have ducked"

"Ah sure, next time you scare the life out of me, you'll know what to do", I said smiling.

"Maybe next time I'll just try not to scare you", he replied with a smile of his own, "the names Will, by the way".

He stuck his hand out and shaking it, I replied, "Thea"

"So Thea, what's an Irish girl doing all the way over in the states? Don't tell me you've been here for years, I would have noticed you", he said with a wink.

I raised my eyebrows and smiled, "I'm just here for the year actually, it's like a study abroad thing, I got here yesterday"

He furrowed his eyebrows and said, "Got here yesterday? Like at the university or were you actually on a plane?"

Before I could answer a voice called out from behind him, "Yo Will! You finished flirting yet? Jackson's gotta go get ready for orientation!"

Will groaned at this and I laughed.

"Ya one second man!", he shouted back.

"Actually", I said looking at the time on my phone, "I had best be going as well, I also have to get ready for orientation"

I looked over his shoulder at the two boys standing behind him and laughed when one waved to me.

"What?", asked Will smiling as I waved back at Jackson.

"It seems that I met both you and your friend through physical harm"

He looked at me quizzically and I continued, "I hit Jackson with my suitcase yesterday"

He laughed, "Well, I guess Jared's next then"

I smiled, "tell him, he'd better be careful so"

He looked at me smiling and I said, "On that note, I had best be off. Thank you for the keys and besides hitting you in the face, it was nice meeting you"

"Ya, you too Thea", he began, "I don't usually hope to see people again after they punch me"

I laughed and turning around to go home, I said, "Bye Will"

"I'll see you Thea", he replied.

Walking away from the boy, I couldn't help but think about how ridiculously good looking he was.

He was remarkably tall and well built. His hair was a warm, dark brown colour and quite unruly. It had that gorgeous, perfectly messy look to it, as if he had just woken up or had maybe run his hand through it. Either way, it was nice hair. Hair that I could imagine my own fingers running through.

I laughed at myself, but as I said before, he was ridiculously good looking and unfortunately, just my type.

What stood out to me most though, were his eyes.

They were that of an ocean, blue but with a mixture of green throughout and contradicted perfectly with his naturally tanned skin.

By Jesus, his looks had me smitten and judging from that brief, yet memorable conversation, his personality may not be quite so bad either.

As I got back to my apartment, I noted the time, maybe going for a run at this seemingly unholy hour, may have been a blessing in disguise and maybe, I just might do it again.

It was then I knew.

This boy was going to get me into trouble.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 – Will**

I watched as Thea walked away from me, shocked. What if it was her? She could be my soulfinder. My soulmate may just be two feet away from me.

"WILL!", shouted Jared, "c'mon man, look alive!"

With one last look at my potential future, I turned around smiling and ran back over to the guys.

"So", began Jared as we started walking off the track, "did you get her digits?"

I laughed, "I wish, but I'll definitely be making sure I see her again"

Jared laughed, "Wow, this girl must be something, Jackson was just telling me that she was the one who roasted Tiffany at registration yesterday"

"Ya, you should have seen it man", said Jackson, "She chewed her up and spat her back out"

I laughed again, "Well, I wish I did see that and I am really starting to regret not getting her number. I don't know how long it's gonna be until I her again"

"Well, it might be sooner than you think dude", said Jackson.

Jared and I both turned to look at him.

"What do you mean?", I asked

"You do criminal law right?"

"Right"

"Well, she's studying international law. You'll probably be in some of the same classes"

I smiled as Jared wrapped his arm around Jackson's neck and started giving him a nuggie.

"Aaahh there we go, little bro'!", he exclaimed.

Jackson laughed and I walked on smiling.

. . . .

It had been hours since I ran into Thea. I was sitting at the desk in my bedroom looking out the window at nothing inparticular and I still couldn't get her out of my head and no matter what I did, I couldn't stop smiling.

I couldn't believe it, Crystal offered to find me my soulfinder what feels like seconds ago and I may have already found her.

The chances of Thea being her were high. While most people think that it is nearly impossible to find your soulfinder, and I would have to agree to that to a certain degree, I also believe that fate does get involved.

I believe in this because of my brothers. Sky just happened to be defending the goal the one day that Zed decided to show his opposition mercy and offer up some advice. Yves, on the other hand, was chosen by an underground savant organisation to be the victim of a pick-pocketer no other than Phoenix herself. Trace just happened to be in the right place at the right time when Diamond and Crystal were mugged. Finally, it may be near impossible to some people to find their soulfinder, but when the soulfinder of one brother's younger sister is the souldfinder of another, those odds seem slim to none.

These are the reasons that I believe fate comes into play when discovering one's soulfinder. I know it makes me sound soppy as any person can be and to the rest of my family, I seem too chilled out to ever worry about finding my soulfinder and to be least likely, not including Victor, to be romantic but even I have to admit to myself that besides my stature and football player physique, I am in fact, a giant softie. Which is something I hope that my soulfinder, who is hopefully Thea, won't mind.

While I do believe that fate plays a factor in uniting true loves, I do understand that fate does not do all the work and sometimes, one must create their own fate. Therefore, I had to figure out a way to 'bump-in' to Thea again and upon doing so, I must figure out if she is in fact, the love of my life.

I shifted in my seat and leaned back as I tried to come up with a plan.

I knew it had to be good and carefully conducted. While fate may have brought her to America, her past fate may have not led her to the realisation that she was in fact, a savant.

She could be like Sky and not even realise what she is. Then again, Crystal did say that she knew she was in her head when she made the initial connection with my soulfinder and had to leave quickly as whoever she was, Thea, was powerful and tried to follow the connection back. So, her being like Sky wasn't likely.

She could reject her savant ways and try to live her life as normally as possible. Maybe she doesn't want her soulfinder, or worse, seeing as she is only here for a year, maybe she has someone at home whom she loves.

That theory was almost too painful to think about.

Then again though, she was quite flirty with me back on the track, but I could have been imagining that. Adding a nostalgic view on the memory of meeting my future wife.

I stopped twisting my chair.

Thank God I was not at home when that thought came to mind. If my brothers had plucked that anticipation from my mind, they'd have chewed me up and spat me out.

While being in a family of savants did force me to make shields stronger than Zed's rebellious stage, it goes without saying that sometimes, thoughts slip out.

I'm surprised that Zed doesn't always catch these. I think that sometimes he does, but he pretends not to. I can see him looking at me when I watch him and Sky or my other brothers and their soulmates.

Maybe he doesn't say anything out of kindness. Sky being sweet enough to give you a toothache may have decayed his tough exterior and forced him to release his inner marshmallow. Maybe he's not as tough as he pretends to be.

Or maybe, a not so welcoming thought here, he pities me. Seeing the want in my eyes and not being cruel enough as to point it out.

I am hoping, it's the former.

Another thing that I'm hoping for, in case I haven't mentioned it already, is that Thea is my soulfinder and that I do go about the right way of winning her.

I just needed to figure out the best way to do so.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 - Thea**

Throughout orientation, my mind very rarely drifted from it's sole thought of the day, which was Will.

Shockingly, my attention just couldn't be held by the vastly packed library or the rules and regulations which must be abided by all members of the student body, but rather the temptuous American that I very gladly encountered this morning.

Just the thought of him brought a smirk to my face and as much as it excited me, it also scared me.

One of the reasons that I found it so easy to leave home was there was very little holding me back. I've been alone as long as I could remember and I'd grown quite accustomed to my solidarity.

I also was not the biggest fan of 'letting people in'. Sure I've had friends along the way, friends that I've gone out with, had brief relationships with that may have gotten to the cusp of friendship, but never past it either.

I preferred it that way. It wasn't so much that I was afraid to let people in or to let others see who the 'real me' is, I'm just not too sure myself who 'I' actually am and I've never been too bothered to find out either. I sometimes felt as if there was something stopping me, then I usually figured, it was sometimes best to just let the chips fall where they may and to just try and be happy with what you get.

I always was a chilled out person. I didn't like to stress out about things and I never saw the point in doing so. I liked to follow my gut and trust my instinct. Thus, leading me stateside.

As a savant, I believed it was only natural to follow my instinct. We were given these extra gifts in order to make our lives easier and furthermore, I believe that our gifts show us that we do not control everything. My gifts being the prime example of that.

Most people in my community tend to have one main gift and then a couple of extras usually along the line of telepathy and telekinesis and so on. I, however, was one of the 'lucky' ones born with two. I tended to avoid using them as I always felt, they controlled me more than I controlled them and it wasn't a feeling I liked.

The net had approached me a few years ago, offering to train me in order to work for them, but I was never interested in the idea of using my gifts against others. Gifts are to help others and protect oneself and one's loved ones, had they any of course. I didn't and I don't know if I should allow for that fact to change.

However, there was something different about Will. Even though our conversation was brief, I felt a sort of connection between us and I just didn't know if I should follow it or let it burn out.

If I let it fester, I could end up finding something I didn't like. Something in me that was never meant to come out but then again, I could end up figuring out who, in fact, I am.

I smirked at that thought. Imagine a feminist listening in on my thoughts of needing a man to figure out who I actually am. They'd lose the plot.

Maybe I shouldn't think too much into it. I was only here for a year anyway. If it went well, I could extend my stay, if it went bad, I had an out already sorted.

I laughed at myself. A five minute conversation with one of the first boys I meet has got me thinking about our future. You'd swear that he'd asked me out or at least for my number.

I shook my head, I needed to stop thinking about this boy.

In order to get Will out of my head, I finally started to listen to what my tour guide was saying.

"And here!", he shouted, "Is Greek row!"

'Greek what', I thought as I looked around.

I saw random letters of the Greek alphabet stuck onto the doors of the houses surrounding us.

'ah', I thought, 'sororities'.

I'd seen various American movies that featured such houses and they usually entailed houses run by

stuck-up barbies with the stick up their ass.

As if to prove my point, a familiar face began to speak.

"Hey guys", she said with her false nicety, "My names Tiffany and I'm head of Kappa!"

She looked around as If expecting applause and to my utter dismay, the crowd obliged.

I rolled my eyes as she continued, however I was no longer listening to the slurry she was spreading.

She really was like a human barbie, as were the lackeys on either side of her. All three of them had dyed platinum blonde hair. While Tiffany's was poker straight, her followers had big southern-belle curled hair.

Their makeup was expertly, yet heavily applied. Almost as if they rolled straight off an Instagram account or escaped a YouTube video. While you could say that they're makeup was class, it was hard to tell whether or not they were actually pretty.

The two lackeys wore bright pink t-shirts with a white 'K' splayed across their chests and their leader wore the inverse. Though I hated to admit it, the colour scheme greatly complemented their tan. I took comfort in telling myself that it was as fake as they were. Being from Ireland, I was not blessed with tanned skin and though I did have a colour from travelling during the summer, it would both sadly and inevitably fade.

I was so lost in my train of thought, I didn't even notice the three musketeers walking towards me.

"Well, if it isn't my favourite little leprechaun", Tiffany said with a smug smirk while her two followers laughed.

I looked at her and smiled.

"Hey Tiff"

"Don't even try to pledge kappa, we'd never let your skanky ass in"

I laughed, "While the opportunity to be one of our minions is almost to tempting to resist, especially after those kind words, the thought to join ranks with 'Barbies United' didn't cross my mind"

She stared at me, "You're just jealous because we're way too cool to hang out with a weird Irish girl like you"

"I doubt that because it was you who walked up to me. Did you use your folder supplied map?", I asked sweetly.

If looks could kill, I'd be dead.

"Ugh whatever", she began, "I came over here to warn you"

"Warn me?", I said smirking. If she thought her 5'4 stature and equally as long fake nails scared me, she had another thing coming.

"Yes. Warn you."

"Whatever about Tiffany dear?"

She gestured at the girl standing beside her, "Chelsea said she saw you throwing yourself at Will Benedict this morning"

I looked at Chelsea, "I threw myself at him?"

"Don't even try to lie about it", she shot at me.

"When did I do this? After he ran after me or I walked away?"

"She said you were all over him, it was embarrassing", Tiffany chimed in.

"Yes", I began, "between the handshake and him handing me my keys that I had dropped, it was quite a sexy scene. Jeez Chelsea, you don't look much like a watcher, but hey, whatever gets you off"

Just before Chelsea could reply, Tiffany said, "We all know it was more than that. I'm here to tell you to back off, he's mine"

"Does Will know that?"

"He's obsessed with me", she replied, her henchmen nodding behind her.

I smirked at them, "Well, who am I to step in the way of true love. I'll try and keep it in my pants next time"

"Seriously, you don't want to mess with me. I can really mess up your life"

"Actually Tiffany, I kind of do want to mess with you now. You see, I'm finding all this quite amusing and I'm in desperate need of a new hobby. You know how it goes, new country, new me"

"My Daddy is the Dean of Admissions. I can be very threatening to people like you", she said crossing her arms.

"Actually, Tiff, your 'Daddy' won't do a thing to me, because he was practically begging me to accept a scholarship to this university and not the other ones who came looking. And I think the only one threatening here, is me. I haven't spared a second thought on you since our first encounter and obviously, I'm all you can think about. So, this can go one of two ways, you can either, cop on and act like an actual adult and move on from this situation or you can get used to me standing up to you, because I don't back down from bullies"

"You're going to regret this, bitch", she replied giving me a death stare.

"And you've gone for option B. Delightful. Alright well, I'm going to go now, because you're fake eyelashes are no longer funny to me and I'm bored"

"You can't tal-"

Turning around and waving at the three girls, I said, "ok perfect, have your people talk to my people and we'll sort something out. I'll see ya soon hun"

And I was definitely looking forward to it. It's not often you get free entertainment.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8 – Will**

A few days had past and college was back in full swing. The night before the start of first semester, Uriel and Xav had arrived back, full of questions of whether or not I was any closer to finding her. I wasn't willing to tell them about Thea just yet because, well, firstly I didn't want to act like a high school girl fawning on about how a five second conversation with someone made them realise they had found _'the one'_ and secondly, I didn't want to jinx anything.

I was still trying my best to 'run into' Thea and hopefully strike up a conversation which would end with us realising our soulfinder connection and then living happily ever after together.

As it turned out, 'running into' Thea was the easy part. She went for a run every morning, in the same place, at the same time. It was like clockwork. So naturally, I go running every morning as well now. In an effort not to seem too much like a stalker, I vary my times. I either leave about ten minutes earlier or later every day.

The difficult part was, actually talking to the girl.

She ran with earphones in and didn't seem to concentrate on anything else other than running. I'd be somewhat impressed if I wasn't so desperate to speak with her.

I didn't know what to do. It wasn't like I could run after her shouting, because I already did that, but that was when she dropped her keys. I guess my only hope was that she dropped something again.

For someone who didn't seem to spend much time socialising with other people, she seems to have caught some people's eye, judging about what I hear in the locker room after football practice and that was not making me happy. Especially when I heard Walker telling his friends that he's never had an Irish chick before and wondered whether "dipping into her pot of gold would bring him some luck". I then, very rationally, slammed my locker closed and left the locker room closely followed by Jared asking what's gotten me in such a mood.

I needn't have worried about Walker though. He seemed to have thought of the same plan as me and has taken up the idea of a morning run. However, his blatant attempts to talk to Thea were pointless, as she tended to pick up her pace as she ran past him or very obviously veer in the opposite direction. Unfortunately, he's one of those jerks that simply can't take a girl's rejection and puts it down as her 'playing hard to get'.

I was really starting to think that I needed to find another way to get the girl's attention, because as much fun as it was seeing her every day, I'd much rather have an actual conversation with my potential future wife.

Just as I was wondering whether or not following this girl to her classes could be perceived as _'stalking'_ , fate smiled down at me as I queued in line in the university coffee shop and a sneeze caused me to turn my head to where a golden blonde haired beauty sat to my right.

"Bless you", I smiled as Thea looked up.

When she saw me, she returned my smile and laughed saying, "thanks Will".

Ignoring the thrill that I felt because she remembered my name, I continued, "No problem. What are you working on there?"

She sighed and slouched back in her chair, looking at the laptop, "International trading laws", she replied unenthusiastically, "I'm bored out of my mind and would love a break, but if I give up my seat, I'm not getting it back".

"Well, maybe I could be a distraction for a little while?", I replied hopefully.

She smiled and said, "Yes, actually, that would be great"

"Cool, I'll just get a coffee and be right back. Want anything?"

"A green tea would be great actually", she replied reaching for her wallet.

I put my hand up to stop her, "No, I got this", I said.

She looked at me and replied, "Ah no, seriously, I'd feel bad"

I smiled at her, "You can get the next one".

She lightly bit her lip and then smiled at me, putting her wallet away, "perfect", she said.

I walked up to the counter, thrilled and smiled throughout my ordering, purchasing and collection of the hot beverages.

I walked back towards the table and sat across from Thea while placing the drinks down.

"So", I began, "Green tea? Do you not drink coffee in Ireland?"

Thea laughed, "Others do, but I'm more tea orientated. Especially proper tea, the only thing I can drink here is green tea and I'm not the biggest fan of that either"

"Then why drink it at all?", I asked while taking a sip of my coffee

"I like to have something warm to drink while I study, I guess"

"Fair enough, but why are you studying here and not the library?"

"I can never focus in the library", she said, while closing her laptop and putting it into her bag, "it's always so quiet and then I get distracted by my own thoughts. When I'm in a loud place, I have to focus on not listening to everyone so much that the only things that I can think of, is the work I have to do"

"I get that", I said, "I come from a family with seven sons, so when I eventually moved out to go to college, I realised that my type of quiet was not the same to other people's. I need background noise to concentrate"

She stared at me, "Seven sons? Your poor Mother"

I laughed, "I know, I'm number four and I still don't understand why she carried on. Like how could she do any better?"

Thea laughed at that, "Is that how ye refer to yerselves? As numbers?"

I smiled at her accent, "Ya I guess. I think its just a big family kinda thing"

"So if you're number four, you have three younger brothers. Are you a good big brother?", she asked leaning back taking her tea with her.

"Ya, Xavier, Yves and Zed. I don't know, but I sure hope so. Xavier's in this university as well but he's currently on placement in Denver hospital. Yves is the family genius and he's currently reaping the rewards of creating this app for apple. He's going to start college next year and then there's Zed who's in his senior year of high school and he has no idea what he wants to do yet"

"Hold on", she said leaning forward, "Will, Xavier, Yves and Zed. Are your three older brother's V, U, T"

I laughed again, "Yep, Trace, Uriel and Victor. My parents wanted a theme. I don't know why they didn't start of at the start of the alphabet, my brothers could have had normal names. I got off easy thank God"

Thea laughed, "Wow you have a big family, but no sisters?"

"Well, two of my brothers are married now and two are in serious relationships, so I think of the girls now as my sisters"

"That's nice", began Thea, "You have a really big family"

"I know, the house does get crowded during the holidays but I love it. What about you? Do you have a big family?"

Thea shifted uncomfortably in her seat, "I don't know actually. I could have but I grew up in foster homes"

"Oh", was all I said.

"It wasn't too bad actually, I don't even remember a lot of it and then, the summer after I turned thirteen, I went to boarding school and spent all my time studying and eventually got a scholarship for college"

"What happened to your parents?", I asked before I could stop myself.

"Woah", I began, "I'm sorry, that's rude"

"No, no, its fine", Thea said, "I don't actually know, I was always told I was dropped off at a hospital when I was a baby with birth certificate without any names filled in, except my own and then out straight into care because they couldn't had no record of anyone who may be a relation match"

"I'm sorry Thea"

She smiled looking down at the cup she was holding in her two hands, "No, it's fine, honestly"

She sighed and keened back in her chair again, "Now I know that I want a big family"

I smiled at her, "Really?", I asked

"Yep, definitely", she began, "I want lots of kids who have so many family members that they don't actually know how many people they're related to"

I laughed, "I'm the same, after coming from a big family, I couldn't imagine anything different"

"I'd say so", Thea said looking out the window and then turning back to me, "So are you from Colorado?"

"Yes actually. My family have a ski lodge in Wrickenridge, it's not too far from here actually"

"I've never been skiing", Thea said.

"What?!", I exclaimed, "That's insane, its amazing, you'd love it"

Thea laughed, "Ireland isn't exactly known for its thrilling ski slopes"

"What is Ireland known for so?"

She looked at me and smirked, "A proud Irish person would tell you we're the land of saints, scholars and rebel, and be that as it may, each one of those saints, scholars and rebels had more drink flowing through their veins than blood".

I laughed, "I didn't know if the stereotype was true"

"It definitely is and its something that I haven't done in a while. Do you people drink in Colorado?"

"Mostly at the weekends, you 21?", I asked, my heart rate picking up, if I got her to say her birthday, it would almost certify whether or not she was my soulfinder.

She laughed, "Oh yeah, ye have to be 21 to drink here, don't ye"

My heart sank, no, she wasn't 21. She wasn't my soulfinder.

She sighed, "Good thing I turned 21 just before arriving here"

I sighed in relief and Thea looked at me quizzically.

"Were you worried I wouldn't be able to drink or something?", she said smiling.

"Yes, actually", I laughed, "I was worried I wouldn't be able to take you out sometime"

Her eyes met mine suddenly and she smiled, "Good thing I'm 21 then"

We smiled at each other and then Thea checked her watch.

"Aw no", she sighed and then looked at me, "I have class".

"See?", I said, "Education isn't always a good thing"

Thea laughed as she picked up her things.

"So", I began, "can I have your number then?".

"Well, how else are we supposed to go out?", she replied as I held the coffee shop door open for her and handed her my phone.

"That was the best green tea I've ever had", she said handing me back my phone and looking up at me.

I smiled back, "I'll call you", I said.

"I look forward to it Will", she said, walking away as I watched her go.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9 – Thea**

And so, I had a date with Will Benedict. Unreal.

On the bright side, it was to go out and drink, something which I excelled at due to my many years of practice and cultural background. However, I have been told on countless occasions that my tolerance is very high, which when you're sixteen, you're proud of, but as life carries on and you come face-to-face with self-image concerns and the fact that because you're a _woman_ it's not classy to drink as much as men.

Fair.

However, if drinking was a way to promote equality among the sexes, so be it. I am proud to be a candidate.

Will had rang me on Wednesday to ask me to go out with him tonight. The plan was for him to pick me up from mine at ten and then head to his friend's house for ' _pregame',_ as he called it, before heading out. I was a bit nervous about meeting his friends and was completely unsure of what to wear.

At home, it really just depended on where you were going. In a smaller place, you could go out as casual as you wanted and no one would notice, but if you were going into town, you had to look your best. However, a small town in Ireland is the equivalent of a village in the States.

I looked at the time and groaned. I had started looking at my clothes at seven o'clock and it was eight now. ' _For God's sake Thea, just pick something',_ I thought to myself.

I grabbed my leather pants, a red off the shoulder top and because God is good and made Will a tall lad, my favourite pair of strappy heels. I usually had to refrain from wearing such things as I was at a fairly tall 5'10 stature and other lads weren't much taller, but thankfully Will is about 6'5.

I put my clothes on but decided to opt for my ridiculous hedgehog slippers that completely enveloped my feet while I did my makeup.

Thankfully my summer tan was still hanging on and I could use my darker foundation. I don't usually wear a lot of makeup going out as I tend to just sweat it off, but this was a date so I put on a hint more than usual, including lashes and lipstick which matched my top and complimented my tan.

Once my makeup was finished, it was finally time for the worst _. My hair_. I have always been completely and utterly useless at it and the best thing I could do was throw a few curls into it and hope for the best. Which is what I did, but _the best_ is not what it was. I ran my hands through the curls and loosened them into some acceptable waves and sealed them with hairspray. Not that it would help much. My hair was so straight that curls did not usually last long.

I looked at myself in the mirror while I put on some golden jewellery. I sighed, _'I suppose it will have to do'_ , I thought to myself. I checked the clock and it was only nine o'clock. I wasn't really sure what to do with myself for an hour.

Walking into the kitchen I could feel my nerves starting to grow and instead of walking towards the couch, I found myself going to the fridge and taking out the vodka and sprite. I flicked on the speaker and sang along with ASAP Rocky as I poured my vodka dash.

Versatile had just come on when my buzzer went off and I pressed the intercom.

"I don't know how this thing works but I hope I'm buzzing you in right now!" I shouted pressing all the buttons on the pad.

"It's Will, I'm on my way up", Will replied laughing.

I smiled as the butterflies flew through me. I felt like I was back in school and the best-looking lad in the year had just asked me for a pen.

 _'I need to calm down',_ I thought to myself and in order to do so I downed the rest of my vodka before putting the bottle back in the fridge. I didn't want Will to think I was some alcoholic who drank on her own.

The doorbell rang and I quickly looked in the mirror and flipped my hair before going to the door. I grasped the handle, took a deep breath and opened the door.

 _'Wow',_ I thought, ' _this boy can clean up well'_

He stood smiling in black jeans and a matching fitted shirt, that nicely showed off his athletic physique.

"Hey", he said looking me up and down, "you look amazing"

I smiled, "Thanks, so do you"

"I especially love the slippers"

 _Shit_

I looked down at the hideous hedgehogs that covered my feet and went bright red.

"Oh my God", I said putting my hands to my face, "These are my hedgehogs, would you like to come in while I hide them away for no one to ever see again?"

He laughed, "Don't do that", he said walking through the door, "They're cool, you should wear them out"

I laughed "They're more comfortable than the shoes I'm planning to wear anyway. Speaking of, am I overdressed or is this ok? Should I lose some jewellery or something?"

"Don't change anything, you look amazing. If I wasn't trying to be such a gentleman, we wouldn't be leaving this apartment"

I could feel my cheeks starting to warm up, I don't know what's happening to me. I'm never like this around a lad. I'm gonna have to be careful around this boy.

"Maybe next time", I said laughing, "would you like a drink or anything before we go, or would you prefer if we just went straight to prinks?"

"Prinks?", he said

"Oh sorry", I laughed, "Ye say pregame don't ye? Well, at home we say, 'prinks' as in 'pre-drinks'"

"That makes sense I suppose, we could have a drink before we go?"

"Perfect", I said, "There are drinks in the fridge, help yourself while I go and grab my shoes"

When I got to my room, I did a quick makeup check and dabbed on more powder and a dash of lipstick. Whilst rubbing my lips together I tried to make myself calm down. I ran my hands through my hair, 'why was I so nervous'.

I did a quick body shake, put on my heels and went back into the kitchen.

Will looked up from pouring the drinks.

"I just grabbed the vodka, I hope that's ok", he said, handing me the drink.

"That's perfect", I said while taking a swig, "Here let's sit down at the table"

We sat opposite from each other at the table and I was delighted to see that he had brought the drinks with him.

"So", Will began, "Who sings this song?"

Just at that moment in time, I realised we were listening to Ketamine by Versatile. Probably one of the weirdest songs in my repertoire, but I love it.

I laughed, "It's called Ketamine. It's by these Irish lads. They're big enough at home, it's full of Irish slang, I wouldn't be surprised if ya didn't like it"

"I've never heard anything like it", he said turning his head towards the speaker.

"You can pick a song, if you like? My phones just on shuffle", I said typing my password into the phone and handing it to him.

He looked at the phone and then at me.

"What?", I asked

"Literally no one I know would just hand their phone over to someone", he said laughing, but taking the phone all the same.

I laughed, "Fair, I guess I have nothing to hide"

Will kept scrolling through my music, "Oh, I like this playlist", he said as a heavy bass took over my apartment, his head nodding along with the beat.

I laughed as I took a swig of my vodka.

Will looked at me and said, "finish that drink, this is music that needs to be danced to".

I looked at him with a half-smile, wondering if he was joking or not. Then, he downed his drink, stood up, walked to my side of the table and offered me his hand.

"C'mon Thea", he said wiggling his fingers and eyebrows, "you know you want to"

I laughed, downed my drink and took his hand.

Will then twirled me around, put hid hands on my waist as we danced. I laughed and jumped to the beat as he attempted and failed to do the moonwalk.

He made his way back over to me and put his hand on my waist again. I put my hands on his shoulders as we swayed to the music together.

I looked up at Will and our eyes locked. He licked his lips while glancing down at mine. My breath hitched as my lips parted. The music suddenly faded and the only thing I could hear was my quickening heartbeat in my ears.

My eyes closed as Will leaned in.

Then, his phone rang.

The sharp ringing jerked us both back into a reality as we stepped back from each other.

Will smiled apologetically at me while he answered, "Hey Jared…. Ya I'm at Thea's now… Cool, we'll be right over"

"We should probably get going", he said smiling at me.

"Ok, sound", I said, "let me just grab my things".

"Sound?", he asked looking at me confused.

I laughed, "Sorry, Irish slang. It's kind of like 'ok' but it really depends on like the way you say it or so on"

He laughed, "that's so weird"

"Only if you've never heard it before", I said smiling.

"I guess you're right"

I put grabbed my bag and just as I was about to pick up my drink, Will stopped me.

"You don't need that, there's drink at the apartment"

I looked at him confused, "But do ye not bring your own as well?"

"No, whoever hosts, supplies", he smiled.

I looked at him with disbelief, "That's crazy, in Ireland, we bring our own and no one touches anyone's drink"

"Well, we can save your vodka for next time", he said with a wink.

I put my vodka back in the fridge and made my way to the door, with Will following behind me.

I was about to lock the door, when Will says, "Hey you forgot your jacket"

"It's like 20 degrees, I'll be fine, this is like summer to me"

He laughed, "Well, if you're sure"

He took my hand and pulled my along, "c'mon, let's go have a good time".


End file.
